THE COURT BALLAD.
[1]To the Tune of, To all you Ladies now at Land, &c.
I.
TO One Fair Lady out of Court,
And Two Fair Ladies in,
Who think the TURK
The Little Turk.
and POPEThe Au⯑thor.
a Sport,And Wit and Love no Sin,
Come theſe ſoft Lines with nothing Stiff in
To B [...]ll [...]ne, Le [...]p [...]lle, and G [...]ff [...]n.
With a fa, la, la.
II.
What paſſes in the Dark Third Row,
And what behind the Scene,
Coaches and crip'led Chairs I know,
And Garrets hung with Green;
I know the ſwing of ſinful Hack,
Where many Damſels cry alack.
With a fa, la, la.
III.
Then why to Court ſhou'd I Repair,
Where's ſuch ado with T [...]d.
To hear each Mortal Stamp and Swear
And ev'ry Speech with Zouns end,
To hear 'em Rail at honeſt S [...]d
And raſhly Blame the Realm of Blunderland
Ireland.
With a fa, la, la.
IV.
Alas like S [...]z I cannot Pun,
Like C [...]t [...]n Court the Germans,
Tell P [...]k [...]n [...]g how Slim ſhe's grown,
Like M [...]d [...]ws Run to Sermons,
To Court, Ambitious Men may Roam,
But I and Marlbro' ſtay at Home.
With a fa, la, la.
[2]V.
In truth by what I can diſcern,
Of Courtiers 'twixt you Three,
Some Wit you have and more may Learn,
From Court than Gay or Me,
Perhaps in time you'll leave High Diet,
To Sup with Us on Mirth and Quiet,
With a fa, la, la.
VI.
At Leiceſter-Fields a Houſe full high,
With Door all Painted Green,
Where Ribbons Wave upon the Tye,
(A Milliner I mean)
There may you Meet Us Three to Three,
For Gay can well make Two of Me.
With a fa, la, la.
VII.
But ſhou'd you catch the Prudiſh Itch,
And each become a Coward,
Bring ſometimes with you Miſtreſs R [...]h,
And ſometimes Miſtreſs H [...]d.
For Virgins to keep Chaſte muſt go
Abroad with ſuch as are not ſo.
With a fa, la, la.
VIII.
And thus Fair Maids my Ballad ends,
God ſend the King Safe Landing,
And make all Honeſt Ladies Friends,
To Armies that are Standing,
Preſerve the Limits of theſe Nations,
And take off Ladies Limitations.
With a fa, la, la.
FINIS.
Appendix A
Printed for R. Burleigh, in Amen-Corner. Price 2d. Where may be had, Pope's Miſcellany. Containing the following Poems, viz. The Baſſet-Table, The Drawing Room, The Toilet, The Looking-Glaſs, The Worms, The Firſt Pſalm, Tranſlated for the Uſe of a Young Lady. Price Six Pence. Alſo, A True Character of Mr. Pope, and his Writings. Price Three Pence.
- Citation Suggestion for this Object
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 3668 The court ballad By Mr Pope To the tune of To all you ladies now at land c. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5C41-4